Fold down eave for mobile home

ABSTRACT

A mobile home is equipped along an upper portion with a movable eave that is capable of being swung between a functional extended position and an in-transit retracted position on top of the roof. The eave and mobile home upper portion are interconnected by a flexible sheet that bends as the eave is being swung between its extreme positions.

United States Patent 691 Eysenring Jan. 8, 1974 [54] FOLD DOWN EAVE FOR MOBILE HOME 3,188,772 6/1965 Tennison, Ji. 52/ 95 2 6 1 Invent Edward Evening, camanllo. $533,333 31323 $215123, Z492 Cahf- 2,485,463 10/1949 Smith 52/69 1 2,860,384 ll/l958 Wait et a]. 52/73 [73] Asslgnee' Dual Oxnard 3,485,346 12/1969 Ballard.....-. 52 66 [22] I 7 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS PP N94 1 8 573,858 4/1959 Canada 52/010. 6

52 us. c1 52/69, 52/73, 527/94 Primary Examinerl-lenry Sutherland [51 Int. Cl E04b 7/16 Assistant Examinerl-eslie A- Brawl [58] Field 61 Search 52 69, 71, 60, 68, Attorney-John Kelly 9 PastQriZa & Kelly [57] ABSTRACT [56] 1 References A mobile home is equipped along an upper portion UNITED STATES PATENTS with a movable eave that is capable of being swung 3,699,731 1'0 1972 Arnoldl...;...;..; 52/71 x tween a functional extended position and an in- 3,638,373 2/1972 Chapman... 52/92 transit retracted position on top of the roof. The eave ,8 2/1939 G y /8 and mobile home upper portion are interconnected by 3,181,275 5/1965 S chrofer et al. 52/73 a flexible sheet that bends as the eave is being swung 3,070,850 1/1963 McClure, Sr. 52/69 between its extreme,po'sitions 3,6l7,086 11/1971, King 52/69 1. 1,480,246 1/1924' Douglas 52/94 3Claim's, 4 Drawing Figures PAIENTEI] JAN SHEEI 1 OF 2 PATENTED MN 8 W V///l///// j FOLD DOWN EAVE FOR MOBILE HOME BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention generally relates to eaves for mobile homes and more specifically to an eave secured to a mobile home in a manner so that it can be selectively switched between an extended position for use and a retracted position for road travel conditions.

Conventional mobile homes and some related large sized recreational vehicles are equipped with rather stubby permanently installed eaves but generally no eaves at all are carried.

Eaves are useful in providing shade and shelter from precipitation. In addition'eaves contribute to the overall aesthetic, appearance and allow mobile homes to simulate the general attractiveness of homes.

For safety reasons many state motor vehicle departments impose regulations that restrict vehicles and wide loads to certain maximum on the road" overall widths.

A drawback associated with permanently fixed and rigidly installed eaves is that living space must be sacrificed to meet the road regulations.

As shall be fully explained the primary purpose of this invention is to furnish a mobile home with the complete aesthetic value of a permanent home without sac rificing any living space or running the risk of violating road regulations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly described this invention comprehends securing a movable eave to the upper side section of a mobile home so that the eave can be extended for use and retracted during in-transit conditions.

A mobile home upper portion has a roof panel and a side panel. Flexible interconnecting means serves to couple a movable eave to the mobile home side panel. The eave is arranged for movement between an extended position where it overhangs the side panel and a retracted position where it is swung upwardly and inwardly to overlay the roof panel where it can be carried during road travel conditions to minimize the overall mobile home width.

The interconnecting means is a hinge constituted by a strip of flexible metal whose length is generally coextensive with the length of the cave.

The interconnecting means has a roof cover section secured to the roof panel and an eave cover section extending over and secured to the eave. Preferably the flexible sheet extends entirely across the top of the eave.

The eave is a rigid rectangular frame constituted by at least one inboard longitudinal member, one outboard longitudinal member, plural horizontally aligned cross pieces interconnecting the longitudinal members and plural vertically aligned gussets interconnecting the cross pieces. The rectangular frame is shaped so that when the inboard longitudinal member rests against the mobile'home side panel then the eave top is aligned generally in co-planar relationship with the roof panel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The numerous benefits and unique aspects of the present invention will be fully understood when the following detailed description .is studied in conjunction with the drawings in which:

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a movable eave l0 folded down to an extended position and attached to the upper portion 11 of an otherwise conventional mobile home 12. The mobile home 12 has a front wall 13, a pair of opposing side walls- 14 and 15 and a rear wall 16. Mobile home His supported on a set of tandemly aligned wheels 17 on which it may be hauled by a self-powered vehicle such as a truck, tractor or automobile. Mobile home upper portion 11 has a sloped roof panel that is generally inclined in a direction from side wall 15 towards side wall 14.

Eave 10 extends longitudinally along the lower end of the mobile home upper section 11. Eave 10 has a front end 20, a rear end'2l and an outboard portion 22 that, when the eave is in its extended position as shown in FIG. 1, overhangs mobile home side wall 15. The interface or junction between eave l0 and mobile home upper portion 11 is represented by numeral 23. As shall be explained in greater detail the cave l0 and upper portion 11 are coupled together by way of a flexible interconnecting means 24 by which eave 10 can be easily folded back to overlie a portion of roof panel 18.

' Referring now to FIG. 2 the flexible interconnecting means 24 has an eave cover section 25 that extends across the eave top. When the cave is oriented in its functional extended position its top surface is generally aligned in co-planar relationship with the mobile home roof panel 18. The eave 10 is generally constituted by a rigid rectangular or a box frame 26 that has lightweight members including a pair of parallel vertically spaced outboard longitudinal members 27 and 28 that are securely joined to a series of horizontal cross pieces 29, 30, 31 and 32. These cross pieces are linked together by a series of vertically aligned gussets 33 and 34. Splice plates 35 and 36 are provided to align and join sections of the outboard longitudinal members 27 and 28 and hold them together as continuous units. In addition splice plates 35 and 36 strengthen the joints between members 27 and 28 and the outer butt ends of the horizontal cross pieces. These members assembled together to form the rigid frame 26 and securely held together by way of suitable conventional fasteners such as staples 37 and nails 38.

Referring now to FIG. 3 the rigid frame 26 constituting the general body of eave 10 has a pair of vertically spaced inboard longitudinal members 40 and 41 that are identical in construction to the outboard longitudinal members 27 and 28. Horizontal cross pieces 42 and 43 interconnect the inboard members 40 and 41 with the outboard members 27 and 28 and a plurality of vertical gussets 44 and 45 are secured to the cross pieces by way of staples 37.

Mobile home upper portion 11 has a vertically aligned side panel 46. Upper portion 11 is basically a network of trussed rafters including crossed diagonal members 47 and an underlying support plate 48.

The major portion of roof panel 18 is covered by a diaphragm 50 which for example may be 30 gauge galvanized metal. The flexible interconnecting means 24 is a flexible sheet that is likewise fabricated from 30 gauge galvanized metal. The interconnecting means or flexible sheet 24 has an innermost segment that is a roof cover section 51 secured by way of a first attachment means 52 to diaphragm 50 and roof panel 18. An outermost segment of flexible sheet 24 constitutes the eavercover section 25 which is secured by way of a second attachment means 53 to the horizontal cross piece 42 of rigid frame 26.

The attachment means 52 and 53 are constituted by longitudinally extending rows of nails or screws. Attachment means 52 is spaced inwardly of the roof panel-eave junction 23. Similarly, the attachment means 53 is spaced from the roof panel-eave junction 23. The segment of flexible sheet 24 between attachment means 52 and the attachment means 53 constitutes a continuous metal hinge that extends across the roof panel-eave junction 23 when the cave 10 is extended as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.

The outermost edge 54 of eave cover section 25 overlies the upper edge 55 of a fascia sheet 56. The overlapping edges 54 and 55 are nailed or otherwise fastened into longitudinal member 27. A portion of the upper edge 55 of fascia 56 is bent to form a drip lip. The lower edge 57 of fascia sheet 56 is crimped inwardly around an outermost edge 58 of a soffit sheet 59 which covers the underside of eave 10. The innermost edge 60 of sofflt sheet 59 is secured by nails or screws to longitudinal member 41. I

In order to stop the eave 10 from oscillating during rough or bumpy road travel, an anchoring means 61 is provided in the form of one or more elongated screws extending into elongated member 41 and side panel 46.

The eave 10 can be easily swung from its functional extended position as shown in FIG. 3 upwardly and inwardly as indicated by directional arrow R to its retracted essentially non-functional position as shown in FIG. 4. As the eave 10 is swung from its extended position to its retracted position the segment of the flexible sheet 24 between attachment means 52 and attachment means 53 progressively bends and ultimately assumes a bowed configuration illustrated in FIG. 4. In this condition, it will be appreciated, the overall side to side width of the mobile home will be diminished.

In order to stabilize the eave 10 in this retracted position and prevent it from flipping out of place during maneuvers by the mobile home around steep corners or over rough roads for example, hold down means for intransit situations and provided. An outer stabilizing strap 62 is coupled by way of fastener 63 to the eave 10 and by way of a lower conventional fastener 64 to mobile home upper portion 11. Similarly an stabilizing strap 65 is provided that has fasteners 66 and 67 capable of being attached to the eave l and mobile home upper portion, respectively. The stabilizing straps 62 and 65 can, in addition, be grasped by one or more people for use in manipulating eave between its extreme positions.

OPERATION Keeping the above construction in mind it can be understood how the previously described disadvantages of eaves used in association with mobile homes are overcome or substantially eliminated by the present invention.

As the mobile home 12 is hauled from place to place the eave 10 is maintained in its retracted position overlying roof panel 18 and held down firmly in this position by way of stabilizing straps 62 and 65. During this time the overall width of the mobile home 12 is considerably reduced to accommodate certain maximum width on the road" regulations.

Upon arriving at a destination the eave 10 is unhitched or released from the mobile home upper portion 11 by disconnecting the stabilizing means 62 and 65. The eave 10 is then swung upwardly and outwardly by one or two men through an arc exceeding until longitudinal member 41 engages and rests against side panel 46. During this time the flexible sheet 24 becomes gradually unbent and eventually is aligned in co-.

planar relationship with roof panel 18. At this time the anchoring means 61 is arranged in place to prevent the eave 10 from jiggling relative to the mobile home 12. From the foregoing it will be evident that the present invention has provided a fold down eave for a mobile home in which all of the advantages are achieved.

What is claimed is:

1. A combination mobile home and eave comprising:

a. A mobile home having an upper portion with a fixed roof panel and a fixed side panel;

b. A movable eave normally positioned adjacent the side panel and being constructed generally from a rectangular rigid frame constituted in part by an inboard longitudinal member, an outboard longitudinal member, horizontally aligned cross pieces connecting the longitudinal members and vertically aligned gussets interconnecting the cross pieces wherein the rectangular rigid frame is shaped so that when the cave is in its normal and extended position the inboard longitudinal member butts against the mobile home side panel with the eave top generally aligned in coplanar relationship with the mobile home roof panel;

. A flexible interconnecting sheet coupling the eave and roof panel in a manner so that the eave can be moved between an extended position where it overhangs the side panel and a retracted position where it is swung upwardly and inwardly to overlay the roof panel, the flexible sheet having a roof cover section secured to the mobile home roof panel and an eave cover section that extends over the top of the eave and is secured to the eave;

d. First attachment means securing the flexible sheet roof cover section to the roof panel at a location spaced from the roof panel eave junction;

e. Second attachmentmeans securing the flexible sheet cover section to the eave at a location spaced from the roof panel eave junction so that as the eave is swung from its extended position to its re.- tracted position, the flexible sheet bends and becomes bowed between the first and second attachment means;

f. Anchoring means for securing a lower portion of the cave to the mobile home side panel when the eave is in its extended position;

g. Hold down means for securing the eave to the mobile home roof panel when the eave is in its retracted position; and,

tween its extreme positions.

3. The structure according to claim I, wherein;

the fascia sheet and flexible sheet overlap at acorner of the cave and are secured to the outboard longitudinal member. 

1. A combination mobile home and eave comprising: a. A mobile home having an upper portion with a fixed roof panel and a fixed side panel; b. A movable eave normally positioned adjacent the side panel and being constructed generally from a rectangular rigid frame constituted in part by an inboard longitudinal member, an outboard longitudinal member, horizontally aligned cross pieces connecting the longitudinal members and vertically aligned gussets interconnecting the cross pieces - wherein the rectangular rigid frame is shaped so that when the eave is in its normal and extended position the inboard longitudinal member butts against the mobile home side panel with the eave top generally aligned in coplanar relationship with the mobile home roof panel; c. A flexible interconnecting sheet coupling the eave and roof panel in a manner so that the eave can be moved between an extended position where it overhangs the side panel and a retracted position where it is swung upwardly and inwardly to overlay the roof panel, the flexible sheet having a roof cover section secured to the mobile home roof panel and an eave cover section that extends over the top of the eave and is secured to the eave; d. First attachment means securing the flexible sheet roof cover section to the roof panel at a location spaced from the roof panel - eave junction; e. Second attachment means securing the flexible sheet cover section to the eave at a location spaced from the roof panel eave junction so that as the eave is swung from its extended position to its retracted position, the flexible sheet bends and becomes bowed between the first and second attachment means; f. Anchoring means for securing a lower portion of the eave to the mobile home side panel when the eave is in its extended position; g. Hold down means for securing the eave to the mobile home roof panel when the eave is in its retracted position; and, h. A facia sheet covering the outboard side of the eave, and, a soffit sheet covering the underside of the eave.
 2. The structure according to claim 1, wherein; the eave, mobile home upper section and flexible sheet are arranged so that the eave is swung through an arc exceeding 180* when moved between its extreme positions.
 3. The structure according to claim 1, wherein; the fascia sheet and flexible sheet overlap at a corner of the eave and are secured to the outboard longitudinal member. 